One of the primary responsibilities of a school board is to set a direction for the district. In order to fulfill this responsibility, there are several specific jobs that effective boards must carry out:
- Collaboratively develop a mission focused on learning and achievement of all students. A mission describes a future toward which the district is moving.
- Establish priorities, which are the major areas that must be addressed in order to make progress toward the mission.
- Set strategic goals in each priority area.
Several years ago, the Tam District Board of Trustees worked through focus groups of parents, students, teachers, staff, and community members to set a mission for the district. Strategic priorities and goals were then set with the intention of deliberately moving toward a future in which the mission is true for all students. Because setting direction is not a one-time event, progress toward the strategic goals is reported to the board regularly, and goals are updated annually to reflect new data and changing circumstances.
As you can see, this TUHSD direction-setting document is a visual reminder that all work in the district is in service to our mission. This document, which is sometimes referred to as the, "mission map," allows us to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future. As we focus on what is working, we can move from where we are toward an even better place through strategic thinking and supporting risk-taking and innovation.
You will also notice that our direction-setting document differs from other organizations in that it is self-contained on one page rather than a multi-paged booklet format. To help you understand the format we have used, the diagram below points to where the essential elements of mission, priorities, and strategic goals can be located on the mission map.
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